State and Local Daily Digest: County Workers Fear Exposure to Bleeding Sores; Calif. Drought Relief
Welcome to Idaho! Henryk Sadura / Shutterstock.com
Also in our news roundup: Texas unemployment drug testing delays; Utah gears up for federal land lawsuit; and low-cost low-flow toilets.
CASSIA COUNTY, IDAHO
WORKPLACE SAFETY | County workers in this Southern Idaho jurisdiction are concerned about possible health risks when they deal with known drug users who have bleeding sores or are scratching their bleeding sores when they show up in court or are seeking county services. There are no current county policies regarding how to deal with individuals with bleeding sores but the matter is being studied by officials. [MagicValley.com]
SHASTA LAKE, CALIFORNIA
DROUGHT | After years of declining water levels in California’s largest and most important reservoir, increased rainfall this winter associated with El Niño has been refilling Shasta Lake and with continued storm systems pushing into the West Coast, it’s possible the lake could reach full capacity. In the past month, the reservoir water level has gone up by 28 feet. It’s currently about 55 feet away from full capacity. [SFGate]
AUSTIN, TEXAS
UNEMPLOYMENT | Lawmakers in Texas passed legislation three years ago requiring those seeking state unemployment benefits to submit to a drug test, but due to delays in rulemaking from the U.S. Department of Labor, no applicants have been tested yet and it’s unknown when a testing program in the Lone Star State will move forward. [Texas Tribune]
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
STATE AND FEDERAL RELATIONS | Lawmakers in Utah have OK’d appropriations for $4.5 million that will be set aside for legal expenses expected with a possible lawsuit over federal control of 30 million acres of public lands inside the Beehive State. “It will be there so if the attorney general does weigh in on it, we don't have to come back into special session and appropriate it,'' according to Senate President Wayne Niederhauser. "It's in anticipation of the possibility of that happening." [The Salt Lake Tribune]
CLEVELAND, OHIO
STATE AND CITY RELATIONS | Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is vying for the Republican presidential nomination, has touted how he’s helped solve Ohio’s budget challenges while cutting taxes. But with some of those decisions made by the governor and GOP-controlled legislature have shifted some fiscal burdens to the municipal level. A new examination of those impacts shows that the loss of revenue for Ohio’s localities amounts to $360 million. [Cleveland.com]
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
SMART CITIES | Two 7-foot-tall kiosks resembling giant iPhones have been installed in downtown Kansas City. These kiosks, envisioned as “physical manifestation[s]” of the nearly $16 million Smart City initiative, are designed to give visitors and tourists easy access to information ranging from streetcar tracking to local restaurant deals. Twenty-five kiosks are set to go in along the city’s new streetcar route. [Kansas City Star]
FLINT, MICHIGAN
PUBLIC HEALTH | With the coming warmer springtime temperatures, health officials in Michigan have issued a new warning regarding the possible risks Flint residents face from Legionella bacteria. The city saw a spike in Legionnaire’s Disease after the municipal drinking water supply was switched from Detroit’s water system to one that draws water from the Flint River. [The Flint Journal / MLive.com]
HUNTINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA
ELECTIONS | City workers in this Ohio River town are removing unauthorized campaign signs in public rights of way. Code enforcement officers are taking the illegal signs when they see them and are taking them to a police station where candidates can pick them up with no fines assessed. [WOWK-TV]
WATERVILLE, MAINE
TOURISM DEVELOPMENT | Gov. Paul LePage and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard announced a cross-border initiative to expand the number of electric vehicle charging stations along U.S. 201, a highway through rural Maine that connects Quebec with the Pine Tree State’s coast. Why? Closing a 100-mile gap with three or four electric vehicle charging stations could help lure Canadians with electric vehicles to Maine. [Portland Press Herald]
BOULDER COUNTY, COLORADO
WATER CONSERVATION | Through a partnership between Boulder County and the Center for ReSource Conservation, homeowners and landlords can obtain reduced-price low-flow toilets to replace older ones that use more water. The low-flow toilets normally cost upwards of $150, but through the partnership, those who self-install the new toilets can get them for $50. [Daily Camera]
Michael Grass is Executive Editor of Government Executive’s Route Fifty.
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